Not As Stupid As I Look
by Cheyenne Dancer
Summary: Reno is finding thoughts of a certain blond hero occupying more and more of his time. DISCLAIMER: FFVII, Cloud and Reno are owned by Square Enix. I make no profit.


OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER: Cloud, Reno and FFVII are the property of Square Enix. I make no money and intend no harm to the characters. I just like pretty sexy bishounen boys with same. And if I owned the franchise, we'd certainly see a lot more on screen. :)

Notes: Written for Day 17 of the mini_nanowrimo on lj.

Not As Stupid As I Look

He was seriously screwed. Reno found his gaze irresistibly drawn to the trail of tears that gleamed wetly against Cloud's smooth pale beardless skin and felt his groin tighten. The urge to taste the salty fluid, to lick the path the tears had taken, to take that part of Cloud into himself and somehow free Cloud from his misery was near overbearing.

If Shinra ever found out he'd fallen head over heels emotionally as well as literally for the enemy there wouldn't be enough pieces left to put in a box. Reno shuddered.

He couldn't even remember when it started... although he had an inkling it must've started with Aerith.

Maybe the bitch had put some kind of spell on him. After all, every time he saw Cloud, he suddenly couldn't keep his mouth shut, spewing Company secrets, tactics and plans as if they were bosom buddies.

He'd trip and stammer and become a complete bumbling fool, which was absurd because he was a Turk and everyone knew that Turks were dangerous muthafuckers and definitely no one's fool.

But the blond just shone. Tall, broad-shouldered, slender-hipped and he carried a big sword. Reno's lips quirked up in a slight smile. He liked that pointy blond hair, too. Cloud's hair was so soft and inviting, it made Reno's fingers twitch and that blue-eyed mako-filled kicked-puppy frickin' gaze was so soulful, it made Reno want to make Cloud cry, just to see the tears well up and roll down the curve of his face. And then he could make it up to him and kiss away the hurt... and fuck, what the fuck? He sounded like some freakin' lovestruck goddamn teenaged girl in a hormone frenzy.

Ah hell. Reno dropped his head to the bar and rolled it back and forth while holding up the shot glass. He loved the fucking self-righteous prick. It would be funny if it wasn't so fucking sad.

"If you're too drunk to sit at the bar Reno, go home." The word _asshole_ hung unsaid in the air above Reno's head.

Cloud didn't use words like _fuck,_ and _asshole_. He didn't have to. It was in the supercilious lift of an eyebrow, the even assessing stare, the way he sat the shot glass down on the bar.

He wasn't drunk, not by a long shot. He came by The 7th Heaven every night after work, every night when he was in town, sometimes with the other Turks, sometimes with just Rude, more often alone so he could moon over the unattainable.

Everyone thought he was here to ogle Tifa's tits. So did Cloud from the way he protectively took over the bar for her when Reno strolled in the door.

People said that they were an item: Tifa and Cloud. They said they were pretty together and made a sweet couple and a dozen other things that made Reno's gut burn. He wanted to stick his rod down their throats so far and turn the setting on so high their brains fried from their gullet up. It made him want to take Tifa out into the barrens, break her kneecaps and forget where he left her, it made him want to scrub his brain out with Sephiroth's sword and bury the pieces so deep that they'd be plowing the bloody remnants in Wutai .

"Cloud..." That was Tifa's voice.

Reno glanced up under the shaggy fall of his hair, green mako gaze glittering angrily. Cloud held his arm out gesturing that he was okay, for Tifa to stand back. Always protective, that Cloud.

Reno shoved back from the bar abruptly, slapping the shot glass and listening to it shatter as it hit the floor. "You know, Cloud, for such a bright guy, you sure are fucking blind, yo." Shoving hands into the pockets of his slacks, Reno slouched towards the door.

He was definitely screwed and definitely not getting screwed any time soon. He could feel Cloud watching him as he left the bar and flipped him off over his shoulder. Fucking cunt. He'd have a better chance with Rude, why'd he have to fall for a goddamn self-destructive, self-sacrificing goody two-shoes like Cloud?

If Rufus found out, Reno pulled in on himself shuddering. Not worth thinking about. He'd just have to make sure Rufus _didn't _find out, while making sure that Cloud _didn't_ get snuffed either by the Turks or by Cloud's own inconvenient fucking heroics.

And maybe, in between acting the idiot, he could figure out how to get Cloud to look at him. To see that there was more to Reno than just an incompetent thug.

_So, just how does the bad guy get to date the hero?_ Fuck if he knew, but he was gonna find out.


End file.
